Gold Artifacts from the Philippines
from the book Ginto: History Wrought in Gold
Gold artifacts are with the Bangko Central ng Pilipinas
Top Left: The so-called uod or caterpillar shaped ear ornaments, usually found in Samar-Leyte. They are slit at the back, as seen in lower left, so that, in effect they wrap around the extended lobe. This ear ornament can be seen on female figures carved on stone reliefs in Indian temples of the same period. The form is not seen in other parts of Southeast Asia, suggesting that there was a direct and intimate connection between Indian and Samarnon artisans. [Caption -- page 108, Image -- page 109]
Top Right: Scribed swirls and waves on headbands and facial covers from Butuan inspired by waves or the niaga, the snake or dragon motif, which symbolized the sea, which the ancient Filipinos mastered. The abstract pattern expresses the dynamism of ancient Philippine civilization. Those patterns and motifs survive in the southern Philippine okir design tradition. Artisans used a stylus -- perhaps just a pointed bamboo stick -- to scribe the patterns on the hammered sheet. [Caption -- page 86, Image -- page 87]
Middle Left: A set of high-carat bracelets found by a farmer in Baggao, Cagayan...[E]lliptical cross-section bangle with rib-like hammerwork in the outside, with herringbone pattern engraved on the flanks. Batangas earthenware are similarly decorated. [Caption -- page 163, Image -- page 164]
Middle Right: Suso pendant beads inspired by long spiral shells. They are made of tapering granulation so fine that the tinier spheres are smaller in diameter than rice grains. They average 25 to 27 granules per bead...The beads range from very fine, on top, to thicker ones, as in the two lower necklaces. [Image -- page 132, Caption -- page 133]
Bottom Left: A dagger handle from the Surigao Treasure. The swirling lines and the asymmetric form suggest raging flames surrounding a bird's head with a disk at the tip of its long beak. In Indonesia, the garuda or sun-bird was the god Vishnu's vehicle. In old Philippine languages, the sun was also called hari, or king. The symbolism here, then, is that the Butuan kings were vehicles of the divine. [Image and Caption -- page 169]
Bottom Right: Gold finials for fabric sashes...[A] pair of finials, meant to be joined by a cord slipped through the folds placed side by side. Each has an efflorescent center from which radiates five entities of graduating energy. From this circle or mandala, power emanates into the cardinal directions. Was this the diagram of the Butuan polity? [Caption -- page 178, Image -- page 179]
